After suffering traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), patients must be closely monitored since further complications like strokes and seizures may develop. A stroke often occurs after the vascular system carrying blood to the brain tissues is damaged. If the blood loss to the brain occurs over an extended period of time, brain cells can permanently die. Seizures, on the other hand, generally involve the abnormal firing of the brain’s nerve cells, frequently causing patients to suffer muscle spasms, convulsions or changes in consciousness.

Dr. Robert S. Fisher, a Stanford Medical School Neurology Professor, has noted that while seizures symptoms make look more dramatic, strokes are “medically much more serious because in stroke[s] brain cells die.” Given the long-lasting effect of strokes, they are the central focus of this article.

How A Stroke Can Complicate A TBI Patient’s Recovery

Although some scientists are hoping that stem cell research may one day offer new healing opportunities for stroke victims and other patients, no one currently knows how to rejuvenate dead brain cells. For this reason, neurologists and rehabilitation treatment specialists must carefully factor in a TBI patient’s stroke complications into any long-term treatment plans.

Great care must be taken when determining exactly which specific areas of the brain have stopped receiving blood flow due to the death of brain cells. Medical professionals can help many patients try to regain some lost skills and learn to cope with any permanent losses.

Fortunately, some strokes are less damaging than others. Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) or “mini-strokes,” usually don’t cause permanent brain damage. However, people who experience stroke-like symptoms should always seek out immediate emergency medical care to be sure their conditions are properly diagnosed and treated.

Internet Resources for TBI Patients and Others Coping with Stroke Complications

Stroke survivors can find a number of helpful resources on the National Stroke Association’s (NSA’s) Web pages.  In addition to the general resource directory page, readers can also find links to local supports groups. Special information is also available concerning the unique stroke challenges often faced by women, African Americans and children. Other materials are geared to helping the families and caregivers of stroke survivors.

The following clinics and institutes also offer useful information on strokes on their Web pages: the Mayo Clinic, the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Elizabeth Smith, J.D., M.A., is a freelance writer who has successfully written about general health, safety, legal, medical and business topics for over twenty years. She has also served as the author and co-author of two professional legal texts.